


When Words Fail

by orphan_account



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, Multi, RWBY Band AU, couldnt choose just one ship for this au, im a multishipper sorry not sorry, pollination but without enabler because yeahhh no thanks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-15
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-03-05 02:04:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13377819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Music is a powerful tool. Some use it to help guide others, to soothe their pains and their struggles, desperate to help those who need it, and, in turn, maybe even helping themselves. Others try to use it to their advantage; timing it perfectly, and succeeding at getting what they want, however selfish or dangerous it may be.(On Hiatus)





	1. Purity and Strength

**Author's Note:**

> Oh that was an awful summary, if you made it passed that im impressed. Basically this is a Band AU i've been writing for a couple weeks now, maybe a month or so really, but here's the first chapter! Yes it's pollination because i love fics with pollination and there aren't enough out there, but no, there is no enabler happening. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

She felt her heart pound inside her chest, ready to explode with adrenaline. Hot breaths escaped her as she panted with exertion, arms heavy and weak, but she pushed through with a huge grin on her face. Sweat ran down her arms, the aching muscles straining as she struck down against the familiar drums to create a beat she knew by heart. 

She felt oddly at peace like this, a strange comfort emerging from bashing sticks against her drums, but it excited her too. The lightning quick strums that followed did nothing but send a surge of electricity down her spine. 

A voice, not her own, rang in her ears, lyric by lyric. Years of practice by singing lullabies that never failed to chase away her stress, bringing her to sleep, had helped her sister seek to train her voice with their dad and uncle. She came a long way.

Red locks of hair clung to her skin by the end of the song, the dulled roar of cheers and whoops signifying how the duo did. 

It was one of their best performances.

“ _ That _ was Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long performing their final song of the night,  _ I Burn!” _

Silver eyes locked onto bright lilac ones, anticipation clawing its way through their stomachs. Ruby wiped her forehead off with her shirt, slicking back her hair easily, while listening to the man that had walked onstage.

“—We’ll announce who won in five, stay in your seats and relax until we reveal just who gets a one-way ticket to Beacon Academy!” he shouted into his microphone, the crowd hollered while Ruby saw a few making bets.

She drew in a deep breath and got up, shoving her drumsticks in her back pocket. Ruby saw Yang head backstage from the corner of her eye and followed the blonde swiftly. The redhead caught up with her sister, who sported a large grin, and practically tackled Yang with a tight hug.

“That was awesome!” Ruby shrieked, muffled by her sister’s shoulder. The redhead leaned back to reveal her awestruck expression, “Did you hear that? I was like  _ boom tiss!  _ And, and, and—But—Oh, oh! Did you hear  _ yourself? _ You were amazing!—”

Yang’s amused voice cut her off, “I know, I know. I was there too, Rubes.” The blonde’s hand shot out to ruffle her hair, causing the younger girl to give out a surprised yelp and a glare.“You did great,” the pride gushing out of Yang had Ruby flustered, the tips of her ears burning as the redhead shoved her face back into her sister’s shoulder.

“ _ Yang, _ ” she whined out, the guitarist’s laughter only deepening her embarrassment. 

A gentle hand grabbed her shoulder and pulled her away, Ruby looked up to see her sister giving her a reassuring smile.

“You played with all your heart today, that’s all than anyone could ever ask for,” her older sister responded with soft lavender eyes. “You didn’t freeze up, you didn’t break anything, and you didn’t run off the stage before we could finish.”

Ruby was pulled into another hug, the warmth of the arms circling her making her feel safe and loved. Her mouth slowly formed a smile, the doubts she had residing for now.

“You did great.”

* * *

“Watch where you’re going!”

Ruby squeaked out an apology, sinking her head further down her signature sleeveless hoodie, which happened to match her name in color. Her headphones hung around her neck and prevented her from turning into a turtle, but that didn’t keep the redhead from trying. 

“Watch where _ you’re _ going!” Yang retorted hotly, before mumbling curses under her breath with a fierce glare that burned holes into the back of the man that had bumped into her sister. Her stream of colorful words ended with a loud, “Jerk.”

The drummer was pulled into the blonde’s side, a protective arm around her shoulder as they continue walking through the crowd. Ruby relaxed the tension in her shoulders, feeling safe under Yang’s arm, guarded from all the bodies surrounding them.

She shoved her hands into her pockets, glancing up at the guitarist with a hesitant expression. “I still can’t believe it, Yang.”

The blonde looked down at her with amusement, “We’re in front of Beacon Academy, I don’t know how you can’t believe it yet.” 

“I was pulled out of high school!” Ruby loudly whispered out, eyes darting around nervously, “I don’t know how, but isn’t that bending the rules a bit too much? I mean, I shouldn’t be here without really finishing school, right?”

The redhead bit her lip and looked down at her boots, “I didn’t earn my way here.” It had been eating up at her throughout the entire ride, even after landing, her mind had been filled with doubt and worries.

Usually, Ruby didn’t let those types of thoughts get to her; she preferred to live life happily, without a care in the world. Only, she was quite literally pulled out of that world and placed in a new one once the results, from the competition the sibling duo had entered in, arrived. They had won and the Headmaster of Beacon was said to have been given a video of their performance. 

The issue of Ruby’s age had come up, but Ozpin, the Headmaster, had ‘pulled some strings’ for the redhead. She wasn’t sure whether she should be glad or terrified of the influential man. 

She blinked out of her thoughts when she felt herself being led away from the mass of people, Ruby shifted her gaze to meet her sister’s stern lilac eyes once they stopped at the edges of the path.

“Ruby,” Yang began with a serious tone, “you earned your way into Beacon with your own set of skills. Ozpin was so impressed that he allowed you to skip a few grades!” She shook Ruby’s shoulders exasperatedly, choosing to keep her hands on the younger girl’s arms to steady her afterwards.

“I mean, yeah, it’s going to be hard, but that’s why  _ I’m _ here. I’ll help you with anything you need,” she said confidently, the conviction behind it leaving Ruby with a small smile and newfound glimmer of hope igniting. “I’m here for you,” Yang promised, bringing the smaller girl into a brief, but comforting, hug.

Ruby took in a deep breath and let go of her anxieties for the time being, the smile on her face genuine. 

The fiery blonde grinned back mischievously, melting away the serious exterior to reveal the Yang that most people saw, reaching up to ruffle Ruby’s hair. The younger girl ducked under the hand and excitedly ran off into the myriad of people, a burst of playfulness erupting inside of Ruby. 

The drummer turned around to stick out her tongue at Yang, walking backwards for a few steps, only to collide with someone. As Ruby fell, she saw Yang cringe painfully behind all the people stopping, watching in shock as she fell, and a cloud of white and blue. 

She heard a growl, “For the love of—Get up!”

Ruby, feeling too much like a soldier, immediately scrambled to her feet, fully aware of the small crowd surrounding her. Scared silver eyes locked onto furious blue eyes and Ruby felt herself freeze on the spot.

She scanned the girl, who would no doubt kill her soon, noting the strange white hair, which oddly fit her, that was pulled into a ponytail off to the side and the long scar that ran down her left eye. The white, short jacket, Ruby didn’t know what exactly it was, had fancy snowflakes stitched on the sleeves, which ended in black frills. 

Ruby found herself liking the red top the girl wore, until she noticed the snowy boots that run up her knees, accented with red laces. She duly noted the black leggings and the, guess what, white and black skirt, but Ruby tried to mentally take a picture of the boots for later, when the redhead had money and time to search the internet for them.

“Do you have any idea how long it took to arrange those?” her voice shrieked in Ruby’s ears suddenly, attacking the younger girl’s ability to hear. 

Ruby found her voice, “U-Um, no, I’m sorry, but I can help-” the redhead bent down to the stone, reaching for one of the sheets of music that had been scattered all around her, only for it to be snatched out of her loose grip.

“You’ve helped enough,” the scarred girl stated, her icy eyes glaring at Ruby venomously. 

Still, the redhead continued, “No, really, I didn’t mean to- It was completely my fault, I’ll fix it—” 

The pale girl scoffed harshly, “Are you braindead? Actually, aren’t you a little young to be here? Did your mother lose you on her way to the grocery store?” She seemed a little interested in the answer to the question concerning her age, but Ruby only flinched and clenched her fists tightly against her sides, a flame of anger flickering in her chest.

“Well, excuse me for trying to be a decent person,  _ Princess _ ,” Ruby spat out viciously, biting back words that would start a fight. Oh, but how badly she wanted to throw everything she had at the girl.

“Actually, it’s heiress,” a new voice entered the fray, cutting off the indignant reply from the heiress. “Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Music Company. A business, internationally well-known, for the arts.”

Ruby slid her gaze off of the smug expression on Weiss’ face, instead looking at the newcomer. As she did, she saw, much to her relief, that most of the crowd had dissipated at the arrival of whoever interrupted the argument.

Silver eyes zoned in on two pointed, fluffy ears that twitched uncomfortably at the attention she had given them, but Ruby had a grim realization of why their audience had vanished. The redhead quickly redirected her gaze, taking in the tense form of the dark-haired girl.

The first thing Ruby noticed were her stunning amber eyes, inwardly in awe of how beautiful they were. Next was the black leather jacket with a tiny, purple flame-like symbol embroidered on its left breast. It reminded Ruby of Yang and her emblem. 

The redhead continued, taking in the black top that faded down to a deep violet, and the dark pants that had white suspenders hanging down off of it. Ruby inwardly gave a cry of outrage, the boots the girl wore matching the rest of her outfit in color.

The drummer fought a pout, her own worn out high tops paling in comparison.

Weiss’ arrogant voice snapped her out of her musings, “Finally, some recognition!” Before Ruby could even think of wiping the smirk off of the heiress’ face, the faunus did it for her.

“But also a business well-known for its maltreatment of faunus workers, including extremely low wages and ridiculous job positions,” the dark-haired faunus snapped out, clearly holding herself back as Weiss’ expression dropped. “Not to mention-”

“That’s enough!” Weiss interrupted, crossing her arms rigidly as she continued, “What do  _ you _ know about my family’s company? You practically look like a street rat!”

“What, because I’m a faunus?”

Ruby nervously darted her eyes back and forth between the two, their argument growing heated with every response and jibe. 

“Uh, hey, guys? Don’t fight please, maybe?” her tiny protests going unnoticed as the monochromed duo kept on trading sharp insults.

The redhead jumped as a hand placed itself on her shoulder. Glancing back, Ruby relaxed, seeing her sister behind her instead of some weird stranger.

Yang’s mouth formed words, but she struggled to get any out as she furrowed her brow, her lilac eyes mimicking Ruby’s.

She finally spoke, “Yeah, let’s go.” Yang guided Ruby away, despite her protests. “That isn’t our business, besides, it looked like it was being handled.”

Ruby stared up at her sister with disbelief, “They were ready to tear each other’s throats out!”

“Like I said: it’s being handled.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I plan on updating every Sunday, but please do comment to tell me your thoughts, because I'm not how many people would really want this or not. Thanks for reading ^^


	2. Defiance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im posting this an hour early in my time because im an impatient fuck, whoops. Thanks for the comments by the way!

Yells echoed throughout the empty hallways, and despite its origin being rooms away, Weiss heard every spiteful word. It wasn’t often that they would argue, usually they would do everything in their power to keep from seeing even a glimpse of each other for days on end, but today was different. 

Weiss wasn’t sure which it was; whether her father had too much to drink, or her mother, which was more likely given how much her father cared about the family name and would never be caught dead drunk in public, let alone his own staff. She winced at a particularly harsh jibe from her father, knowing it wouldn’t be long until he’d storm out and find something, or someone, else to let his anger out on.

She sighed. 

There wasn’t much time for her to dwell on the dysfunctionality of her family, she had a recital coming up soon, one that would no doubt be missed by both of her parents once again, and Weiss needed to be perfect. Even if her parents didn’t attend, Weiss knew her father would get word of her performance somehow. After all, this final performance determined whether or not she would be able to attend Beacon Academy or not.

_ “A Schnee is nothing but perfect.” _

_ “You don’t want to be a disgrace like your sister, do you?” _

_ “I’m sure your grandfather is watching right now, don’t disappoint him, Weiss.” _

Inhale. Exhale. Repeat.

She can’t accept anything less than perfect.

* * *

The air was tense, full of shock and resentment as father and daughter stared at each other. One was hiding their eye, red liquid leaking down her fingers, as the other watched on in muted confusion and horror. He eyed the crimson trailing down her arm, his expression becoming unreadable, hardened, as he straightened his posture.

“The airship will take you to Beacon Academy once classes begin,” Jacques stated firmly, turning his back to Weiss as he walked to his office chair. A small, dripping knife gripped tightly in his palm, but it was quickly placed out of view from her burning gaze in a cabinet. Her father sat down, bringing papers and folders to lay in front of him, and idly glanced at his daughter. 

“Clean that up.”

His icy eyes swiveled back to his documents, clearly signalling that the conversation was over, but Weiss felt a rebuke building up on the tip of her tongue. It was like a dam that burst, no longer able to hold back the water. A flame was ignited, one that couldn’t be extinguished so easily.

She clutched at her injured eye, fixing her outraged gaze onto her father, who seemed downright determine to ignore her presence. Weiss gritted her teeth, tears falling from her eyes despite herself and mixing with the blood on her face.

“So you’re just going to hide this?” Weiss snapped, his form growing still as she continued, “Just like your mistreatment of faunus employees, which  _ does _ lead to the  _ deaths _ of a few of them. Or just like the way you hide your damaged marriage from the world? What, you don’t want to lose your spot on the company? Or is it your name that you don’t want to taint?

The heiress saw Jacques shoulders tense, but she paid little attention to it. “A name, let’s not forget, that you  _ married _ into.” Weiss wanted to say more, and she would’ve, were it not for the sharp, screeching noise of a chair being rocked backwards against the floor.

Jacques slammed his hands on his desk, a loud bang echoing in the room as he glared furiously at Weiss. He rigidly made his way to Weiss, fists clenched hard enough for his knuckles to blanch.

Weiss immediately berated herself for her slip, possibly ruining her only chance at leaving the mansion she considered a prison. Beacon was the only other school she could find acceptable for her talents, if she weren’t able to attend that school, Weiss would stay in Atlas—in this empty, lonely castle—for a long, long time.

She noticed the familiar, disgusting odor of alcohol instantly, realizing her father stopped directly in front of her. Weiss held her breath as he leaned in closer, trying to intimidate her.

He began speaking quietly and angrily, “You will clean yourself up. You will keep this between us, not a word of this goes to the public, because you  _ do _ seem to forget who is in charge here.” Jacques backs away from Weiss, regaining his stature and composure as he did so. “If you continue to show this type of behavior, I’m not confident in whether I can trust you to be off on your own. As a father, I need to look out for my child. You understand,” his face reveals to her the true meaning twisted behind his sly words. Jacques gives Weiss a hard stare, one the froze her in her place, before he returned back to his desk with a few stumbling steps.

He grabs the back of his seat, moving back to its place, and sits down again.

“Oh, and Weiss?” he drawled, “Make your family proud.”

Weiss does as she’s told without another word.

* * *

_ How  _ _dare_ _ she? _

Weiss scoffed, stiffly making her way through the entrance of Beacon, maneuvering herself between people to avoid bumping into anymore annoyances. She could already feel a headache forming from her earlier interactions with a certain redhead, not to mention the faunus that joined shortly afterwards. Both of them had irked her in a way that not many could, and it infuriated her even further.

The younger girl, the redhead, had ran into her while Weiss was lost in thought, her mind distant, causing the heiress to snap instinctively. A part of her felt a tad guilty for yelling at the girl, especially since she kept apologizing, but a larger part of her felt like she was only doing what she would always do. It was familiar, instinct, to react the way she did. 

Yet, the pained look in the redhead’s eyes after Weiss made a jab about her mother losing her made her hesitate. It was only for a second, the red-hooded girl had quickly retorted back, but Weiss saw how the girl had frozen, like the wind had been knocked out of her.

She wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

The faunus, however, was a completely different story. She appeared out of nowhere, talking about her company, her family, like she knew  _ everything  _ about it. Weiss couldn’t stop herself from biting back, despite knowing that it would do nothing but keep the argument going. She didn’t feel as bad, the faunus insulted her first, but the black-haired girl clearly had repressed feelings about her family and, by default, her. 

Maybe it was the way she carried herself, or maybe it was the way her words would grow more passionate as they continued, but the heiress knew the faunus wouldn’t back down until she did. She was stubborn. Weiss swallowed her pride and stomped off, fully aware of the faunus burning holes into her back with her glare, but she had better things to do than to argue all day.

Weiss huffed, teeth gritted as she refrained from crumpling her music sheets any further. She reminded herself that there was a low chance of ever seeing the two again, and that calmed her to an extent as she continued marching into the auditorium. She glared at anyone who dared to come near her, while trying to reorganize her music.

The auditorium was quickly filling up with new students, waiting for the headmaster to give his speech, as small talk between said students were beginning. Weiss chose not to contribute, preferring to keep to herself, but she kept an eye out for anyone she might recognize. Given that Beacon was one of the schools that competed heavily with the arts, known for creating musical legends and world-renowned artists, and how Weiss’ family owned the biggest company in the musical industry, she might have a few connections to some prodigies that planned on entering one of the four major schools around the world.

She was hoping to spot a familiar shade of red, but the tapping of a microphone and the sudden hush that followed redirected her attention to the man, who she recognized as the famed Ozpin of Beacon Academy, on the stage. 

“I’ll keep this brief,” he began, an odd tone in his voice that Weiss noticed, but she couldn’t name it. “You’re all here in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills,” he droned on, as if reciting the same speech he had given millions and millions of times before to the same crowd of people. 

Weiss narrowed her eyes, something felt off about the way Ozpin spoke, but she couldn’t figure it out.

“And when you are done, you plan to dedicate your life to sharing those skills with the world, maybe even become famous,” he said nonchalantly, but something had Weiss on edge, like a stone that was about to be dropped. She watched as he idly pushed his glasses further up his nose, before addressing everyone again.

“But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy.”

Weiss narrowed her eyes, baffled at how the man could say something like that and not expect backlash. She saw students around her look around at their friends, whispering about what Ozpin had said, but the man didn’t seem fazed.

He barely paused before continuing, “In need of purpose; direction. You assume that knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far.”

The heiress wasn’t sure what he meant by that; his whole speech confused her to a degree. Weiss furrowed her brows as she tried to figure out the meaning behind his words, nearly missing his final comment.

“It is up to  _ you _ to take the first step.”

It didn’t make  _ sense _ to her. Weiss wasn’t sure if that was his intentions or not, but it frustrated her. 

As Ozpin made his way off the stage, a blonde, strict-looking woman, Glynda Goodwitch, took his place. “You will get your rooms tonight, hand your schedule to one of guides if you need help finding your assigned dorm room. Otherwise, classes begin tomorrow,” she instructed, gesturing towards the exit as she finished.

Weiss glanced at her schedule, which she remembered to place on top of all her music, and noticed a small number in the corner. Luckily, her father sent her stuff to the school beforehand, so Weiss didn’t have to carry any luggage like most others. 

She just hoped she wasn’t roomed with anyone too obnoxious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise the next chapter will be longer, sorry ^^
> 
> Also, there's this RWBY discord server that my friend made, currently it's just us, so if you message me through tumblr, RedCanWrite or RedMessenger15, then I can send you an invitation link ^^ I hope you enjoyed this chapter! The comments from last chapter really encouraged me, so again, thank you :)
> 
> (also like that vol. 5 finale tho)


	3. Forgiveness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm posting this now because I'm not sure if I can post this tomorrow. I'll be a bit busy with homework and family issues tomorrow, so y'all are lucky.

She froze, holding her breath, and tensed her muscles as she strained her ears for the unknown sound that she heard seconds ago. A deep-seated fear settled in her stomach, wild, panicked amber eyes darted around to find an escape, but she knew it was futile. There was only one exit; the entrance was her only escape.

Blake silently cursed herself, a tiny creak from the wooden planks outside the room she had hidden herself startled her. A gasp ripped its way out of her throat, dread quickly forming afterwards, but before Blake could even think of hiding the paper in her hands, the door to the dusty storage room was swung open.

She flinched, the loud bang of the door slammed against the wall hurting her, different, pair of ears. Blake got to her feet in a rush, nearly tripping over a few supplies that were scattered across the floor, and shakingly held on to the sheet of paper in her hands. Blake knew it was useless to hide it now; Adam had seen it as soon as he barged into the small room.

“You know, I’ve been looking for you,” Adam started slowly and calmly, closing the door behind him as he inched towards her and backed her into a corner. He was wearing the white mask lined with red markings again, and it unnerved Blake how comfortable he seemed with it. “Why are you hiding from me, Blake?” 

There was no hiding the venom in his words, the warning tone he used more and more often with her when they were alone. She couldn’t help but shrink away from him as he neared her.

“I’m asking you a  _ question _ ,” his tone hardened, a harsh bite appearing as Adam continued, “ _ Why  _ are you  _ hiding _ from me?” He snatched the piece of paper from her hands when she failed to respond fast enough, and despite the noise of protest from Blake, Adam scanned over it silently.

A part of her was stolen with that sheet of paper.

Blake clenched her jaw tightly, refraining from reacting in a way that Adam wouldn’t like. She learned quickly that thinking differently from him only resulted in explosive arguments and, occasionally, some scratches and bruises. Blake knew it wasn’t right. The way Adam treated her,  _ manipulated _ her, all for his own selfish desires, but it was hard to see that at first. 

It had been so hard to distinguish the young man before her, full of hatred and spite that seemed to consume him as the days passed by, and the friend she had fallen for. For so long, Blake convinced herself Adam was the same, that he hadn’t dramatically changed during their time playing for the White Fang, basically living with the part of the organization in Vale. Memories from a forgotten past invaded her thoughts, of an island with beautiful skies and cool waves, but Blake quickly shoved them in the deepest parts of her mind.

Now wasn’t the time.

“So this is what you’ve been doing here?” Adam’s tone wasn’t questioning, more like he acknowledged a fact as he snapped her out of her thoughts. “Blake, you know why we don’t let you write.”

She knew exactly why. Her lyrics always ended up hopeful, inspiring, and contrasted drastically with Adam’s way of thinking these days. Blake would always end up leaning towards fighting for equality with humans, but Adam wanted something more violent, something like revenge towards the humans that had made the faunus suffer so deeply. Only it didn’t end there. He wanted  _ all _ of humanity to suffer like the faunus had, or even more.

“I wasn’t going to—”

Blake was cut off by Adam, “I’ll change it so that we can perform this for the White Fang the next time they can arrange the showing for the new members.” He folded it and shoved in his back pocket, causing Blake to wince painfully, unable to do anything but helplessly watch.

“We’ll talk later.”

With that last promise, Adam stalked out of the room, his red hair and the red rose stitched on his jacket were the last to fade into the darkness of the dead hallway. The horned man never went back on his promises, something Blake knew very well, and it did nothing to quench the fear that overwhelmed her. 

She stumbled back against the stonewall of the confining storage room, knees buckling, barely noticing that she slid down to the cold floor. Blake sucked in deep, calming breaths, but nothing stopped the shaking of her body. She wrapped her arms around her knees, desperate to ground herself to anything.

Blake had poured  _ everything _ she had in to the lyrics. All of her emotions, all of her tears, all of her built up frustrations with society, were finally transferred into words, but Adam would ruin it. He would ruin all that she worked so hard for, and it  _ angered  _ her more than anything ever had before. Her ears flattened against her head as she muffled her cries into her arms, shame filling her at the feeling of her sleeves growing wet. 

If Adam found out she was crying…

The only thing holding her back from running away was a certain chameleon.

* * *

The familiar smoke drifted lazily in the air, its stuffiness irritating her sensitive nose, but she ignored it like always. She heard low voices talk amongst themselves, some slurred their words, but others quietly conversed about the event they chose to attend. The event that just so happened to star her and a few others.

Blake bit the inside of her cheek, a ball of anxiety gnawing on her insides as she fiddled with her bass. 

It was one thing to perform a song. It was a whole different thing entirely to perform a song she wrote, despite the alterations made by Adam. He had changed the meaning of her song with the addition of a few lyrics, ones that  _ he _ would sing.

She struggled to loosen her grip on the neck of her bass guitar, her knuckles turning white from the amount of strength she unknowingly put behind her clenched hand. Blake let out a deep sigh and rolled her shoulders back.

“Is everything okay?” 

Blake flinched, surprised at the sudden, but soft, voice behind her. Turning around, she saw a tan girl, darker flecks marking her body, with a sheepish smile and apologetic eyes.

“Sorry! Didn’t mean to scare you,” her tone turned a little teasing, the glare she got in return only further causing the girl to giggle. “I guess you could say—”

“ _ Don’t— _ ”

“—you’re quite the  _ scaredy cat _ —”

“ _ Ilia _ ,” Blake groaned painfully, the ears atop her head flattening against her skull in turn. She heard the chameleon faunus laugh harder at her reaction, lucky for Ilia, Blake found her happiness infectious and found herself smiling at her amused friend. 

“We aren’t friends anymore,” she replied dryly, but Blake really was thankful that Ilia found her when she did. Her friend always found a way to make the cat faunus relax and let loose.

“Aw, come on, you know you love me,” Ilia quipped back, but Blake noticed some of her mirth fade away as soon as the words left her mouth, her smile less genuine and more forced.

This wasn’t the first time her friend would act like this, it happened more and more often the more the two would hang out, and Blake was worried. Ilia always found ways to calm her down, reassure her and pick her up, the exact opposite of what Adam did to Blake everyday. So it wasn’t surprising that Blake wanted to help Ilia the way she would always help her.

Before Blake could even think of asking Ilia what was wrong and how she could help, Adam appeared behind Ilia, quickly subduing Blake with just his appearance.

“It’s time.”

* * *

Her heart pounded in her ears, the bundle of nerves she originally had expanding, but she willed herself to keep a calm expression. There may be hundreds of eyes watching her, but they weren’t  _ really  _ focused on her. They were there for the song, sure, but they were also here for Adam.

Before she knew it, she was performing the song that Adam ruined.

**“Born with no life**

**Into subjugation**

**Treated like a worthless animal,”**

Adam’s corrupted lyrics were first. It was just like the bull faunus to put himself above everyone, even if it was something as simple as the first lyrics to a song. She pushed her bitter thoughts behind her, after all, it wasn’t the time or place to get distracted.

**_“Stripped of all rights_ **

**_Just a lesser being_ **

**_Crushed by cruel ruthless human rule,”_ **

Blake sang next, adrenaline powering her as she continued to sing. Her lungs burned already, but she paid no attention to it.

She lost herself in the music.

**_“When it started_ **

**_All we wanted was a chance to live our lives_ **

**_Now in darkness_ **

**_Taking everything we want and we will rise_ **

**_We’ll rise_ **

**_We’ll rise,”_ **

She barely noticed the crowd steadily growing more and more rambunctious. The music kept building and building, a restless type of energy radiating towards every White Fang member listening. 

**_“From shadows_ **

**_We’ll descend upon the world_ **

**Take back what you stole,”**

His voice entered the fray again with that last line, an anger clouded her vision as she continued strumming her instrument with more force than was necessary.

She couldn’t stand what he did to her song.

**_“From shadows_ **

**_We’ll reclaim our destiny_ **

**Set our future free**

**_And we’ll rise_ **

**_And we’ll rise,”_ **

Blake opened her eyes for the first time since the song began, and took in the unashamed gawking and the focused expressions on the faunus that were gathered. All were seated at booths or tables, an underground bar that the White Fang owned and regulated for their members. Even the drunkards had given the performers their undivided attention, their drinks long forgotten as the sound of drums and guitars filled the room.

She felt so  _ alive _ .

**“Above the darkness and the shame**

**_Above the torture and the pain_ **

**Above the ridicule and hate**

**Above the binding of our fate,”**

Adam’s voice joined with her own, but instead of merging with her voice, he overpowered Blake’s, much to her distaste. His voice was louder, commanding attention, and it held a certain vibe that the cat faunus didn’t like.

It was a vibe that scared her.

Yet it was the same vibe that she was getting from her own song.

She heard Adam’s solo begin, and saw him grin darkly behind that damn mask of his. He always tended to wear it during performances, but somehow it caught on to more than a few members of the White Fang.

She always had to suppress a shudder when she saw those similar white masks, but not exactly like Adam’s own disturbing one. He claimed that his was special when she asked once.

He never did elaborate further after that.

**“Call us liars**

**Degenerates and killers**

**Psychos, heartless, insane criminals**

**_Stupid mutts and_ **

**_Nothing but pure evil_ **

**_Primal bloodshed is all that’s left to do,”_ **

Blake’s ears perked in alarm when she saw the masked members in the crowd stand up, their malicious smiles resembling the guitarist’s beside her. They didn’t seem to be doing much other than cheer and whoop the band on, but she still felt on edge.

Something wasn’t right.

**_“We’re misguided?_ **

**_Treated like we’re criminals and we should hide_ **

**_Born indicted_ **

**_Tired of being pushed around and we will fly_ **

**_We’ll fly_ **

**_We’ll fly,”_ **

For some reason, Adam’s voice stayed in the background, letting Blake’s take the forefront. 

He  _ never _ did that.

The tightening feeling of wrongness worsened in her chest.

**_“From shadows_ **

**_We’ll descend upon the world_ **

**_From shadows_ **

**_We’ll reclaim our destiny,”_ **

She heard her voice echo as Adam walked to the front of the stage, his guitar heard clearly from everyone in the room, their hollering only seeming to drive him. Blake had to admit that it felt good to have this much of a response from a song that she—

No. The song wasn’t about rising above the racism humans felt that they needed to push onto them. This song was about revenge, about getting  _ back _ at the humans for everything they have done to the faunus;  _ every  _ human, not just those who were prejudiced, but those who tried their best to  _ help _ the faunus.

Blake felt stupid for realizing this now, just as Adam’s last note lingers heavily in the air.

But now, she finally  _ looked _ at him and the White Fang members in front of her. All of them bore the same bloodthirsty grins, and the ones without masks had a darkness in their eyes that froze Blake on the spot. She finally understood.

Their music wasn’t helping.

Their music was driving them closer and closer to committing deeds that would never be forgiven or forgotten.

Blake numbly glanced behind her, towards Ilia, and felt a sickness rise in her stomach as she saw that  _ same damn look  _ in her eyes too. She was all alone with a pack full of dangerous, hungry monsters.

That same night, without warning or goodbye, Blake ran away.

* * *

As she approached her door, loud shouts burst from the other side and made her rethink her ideas of joining Beacon Academy. Blake couldn’t handle having to share a room with people that refused to have an inside voice, especially with her sensitive ears having to take the brunt of it.

She sucked in a deep breath and opened the door.

“—I cannot  _ believe _ that they roomed me with  _ you _ —”

“—back  _ off! _ My sister  _ tried _ to be nice, but all  _ you  _ did was yell at her!—”

“—Guys, someone else is here—”

Blake closed the door.

She could unpack later, maybe after midnight to make sure neither of her…  _ roommates _ were awake. For now, however, Blake hoped there was a library nearby.

She had a feeling she’d be spending most of her time there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the nice comments :)
> 
> Remember, if you want, there's a discord server a friend of mine made and you're welcome to join! Message me on tumblr: Redmessenger15 or Redcanwrite.


	4. An Olive Branch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was the toughest for me to finish so far, but I like how it turned out.
> 
> At this point i should just admit im gonna be updating on saturdays lol

A faint voice, accompanied by shaking, woke Yang up.

She grumbled in irritation, shrugging off the hands from her shoulders, digging herself deeper into the warm blanket. Yang absolutely refused to leave her bundle of comfort, but knowing she had classes today made it harder for her to go back to sleep.

Yang tuned out Ruby, which was an achievement in of itself, so the blonde took a wild guess, from the lack of arguing and shrill yelling, that Weiss left before Yang awakened.  _ That’s at least one positive of waking up today. _

She faintly remembers her other roommate, the black-haired faunus that snuck in by the time midnight struck. Yang, woken up by the ominous creak of the door, blearily watched her sneak over to the only empty bed in the dark, and quickly connected the dots.

After her argument with Weiss yesterday, Ruby mentioned that the girl who Weiss clashed with earlier had appeared for a brief moment. Yang figured that she was their missing roommate. 

At least she was quiet.

Soon after, Yang fell back asleep, now safe that the intruder wasn’t really an intruder.

While the faunus didn’t seem to like the talkative type, she _ did _ take one look at them and immediately flee, Yang concluded that she wasn’t here too. With Ruby’s incessant threats to shave her head, the blonde was pretty sure they were completely alone. 

“Ugh, Yang! You have to take a shower!” her sister exclaimed, an unexpected tug on her blankets nearly uncovering the sleepy blonde, but Yang held strong. “C’mon! We only have like thirty minutes left, you know?”

She bolted up from underneath the covers, frazzled, her wide eyes landing on the alarm clock beside her bed. Yang cursed at the bold red numbers confirming her fears, swinging herself off the messy bed, and making a dash for the bathroom.

“You’re  _ welcome!” _

* * *

The two sisters were making their way to their first class of the day, which they happened to share. Luckily, it wasn’t too far away, they even passed a few students. The hallways weren’t overly crowded however, something Yang appreciated. Ruby never really did like tight spaces.

Yang could get used to the calm atmosphere of Beacon Academy, even if it was only apparent in the mornings. After living with two overgrown children and her sister, it would be a welcome change.

“I didn’t realize I couldn’t wear my hoodie here,” Ruby whined, kicking the ground pitifully. “I feel naked.”

But, then Ruby felt the need to complain about Beacon’s choice of uniform. 

Yang suppressed a bubble of laughter. “Ruby, your hoodie doesn’t have sleeves, this  _ does. _ ” She couldn’t hold it in after seeing the glare the younger girl sent her way, her laughs only causing her sister to grow more flustered.

The blonde grinned playfully once her laughter subsided, throwing her arm across her sulking sister’s shoulders. “I mean, hey, look on the bright side. The skirts could’ve been  _ way _  worse.” 

Ruby lightly shrugged her arm off. “I’m alright with the skirts. I just wish I could wear my hoodie instead of this…  _ thing. _ ” The redhead tugged at her sleeves futilely to show her sister, silver eyes pleading the older girl to do something about it.

Yang gave her a sad smile in response. “I’m sure you can take it off after classes end.”

Her sister reluctantly nods, finding comfort in her words. “Yeah. I wonder if I can try to put on my hoodie under this… or  _ over _ it… “ Ruby trails off, deep in thought. Her brows furrowed, unintelligible mumbles making Yang shake her head with fondness.

Ruby hasn’t changed a bit.

Yang’s own mind drifts to her little sister. She didn’t have many friends, something that worried the blonde for a while, but when Ruby told her why one day, Yang felt a deep guilt burrow in her stomach. 

The redhead felt she didn’t need anyone else when she had Yang as her friend. 

While it softened her heart to think about it, the guitarist knew Ruby couldn’t depend on her forever. She can’t have Yang as her only friend. 

There are times that Yang can’t help Ruby, something that only someone else can help the redhead with, and it hurts, but it’s the truth. Her little sister needs to have other people to turn to.

The blonde glanced at her young sister walking beside her, silently thinking, and makes a promise.

By the time they graduate from Beacon Academy, Ruby will have more people to consider friends, or even better, family. 

Yang will make sure of it.

* * *

As soon as Yang walked into her last class, she groaned in defeat, the sight of a white-haired girl icily glaring her way the cause of her annoyance. Luckily, the familiar redhead, who sat next to Weiss of all people, smiling at the blonde had Yang swallowing any insults she was about to unleash on the heiress.

Yang smiled back at her sister once she got closer. “Hey Rubes! Same class again, huh?” she asked nonchalantly, completely ignoring the girl next to Ruby. “Everything going okay so far?”

Her sister sighed, not-so-subtly glancing behind her and towards their roommate, an action that has Yang narrowing her eyes at Weiss before Ruby could notice.

“It’s… It’s been alright,” the drummer replied, trying to keep the smile from falling off her face as she does. 

Yang pretends not to notice. “That’s good. I’m glad you haven’t gotten into any  _ treble _ .”

Ruby immediately groaned, her forehead meeting the table in front of them in one swift motion. “ _ Yang, _ ” the younger girl complained, but Yang only grins mischievously down at her.

“What? I just didn’t want to come back to a call from you telling me you’ve been  _ under a rest. _ ”

The redhead winced painfully.

The guitarist laughs boisterously, a tiny sliver of worry still in the back of her mind, but it was pushed aside in favor of making her little sister smile. Her keens eyes noticed the reluctant uplift of Ruby’s mouth, which Yang took as a victory in her book.

“Do you mind if I sit here?” a new, hesitant voice spoke up from behind Yang, causing the blonde to startle slightly before turning around. “There aren’t any seats left.”

The blonde managed to contain her surprise once the familiar black-haired faunus came into view, instead outwardly showing her roommate a wide, bright smile. Yang might not like Weiss, but that didn’t mean this girl would be the same. She might even be able to help her smack some sense into the heiress.

“Yeah, go ahead,” Yang beamed, scooting closer to Ruby to allow the faunus to sit down comfortably. “You’re our other roommate, right?” she asks, watching as the girl gets herself situated in her seat.

She paused for a moment, before answering with a brief, “Yes.” Then the faunus opens the book that had been safely tucked under her arm, seemingly signalling that the conversation was over. It was like she lost herself in the book, Yang noted, completely enamored by its contents.

The guitarist lightly fiddles with her pencil, contemplating what to say to get the black-haired faunus to talk with her. She didn’t seem like the type to respond well to small talk, given how the girl responded earlier, so Yang immediately ruled that out. The blonde inwardly huffed, not liking that she couldn’t find a way to talk with the girl beside her, hell, she doesn’t even know what to call her.

Yang decided to bite the bullet.

“So, what’s your name? I'm Yang.”

The smile on her face doesn’t falter when the faunus’ amber eyes snap to hers, a twinge of clear annoyance swimming in the gold, but Yang patiently waits for her answer. She’s never dealt with people who hadn’t wanted to talk to her before, it was different from people like Weiss, because at least she didn’t go out of her way to  _ avoid _ talking to Yang. Or other people. Anyone really.

She figured being patient might pay off.

The guitarist didn’t back away when those mildly irritated eyes rolled. The faunus sighed, before turning her attention back to the pages in front of her. 

“Blake Belladonna,” she muttered under her breath, nearly inaudible enough that Yang had to strain herself to hear the last few letters of her name, a confused look on her face making the dark-haired girl send her yet another irked glare. “My name is Blake Belladonna,” she repeated slightly louder, lifting her book back up pointedly.

Yang hummed, “Ah, that’s a nice name.”  _ Kind of familiar too, _ she thought, rummaging through her memories, but unfortunately coming up with nothing. “Isn’t that a flower?” she curiously asked, but was met with silence. “Right, okay. Lost cause. Gotcha.”

There was more to that name than a flower, but Yang let it go for now, instead storing it in her mind for later.

She turned away from Blake and sighed, idly wondering where the teacher was as her eyes landed on the dusty desk in front of the classroom. A few unidentifiable bottles were littered across the surface along with papers, folders, and pens.  _ If anything _ , Yang scoffed lightly,  _ they remind me of— _

_ Wait. _

_ Fuck. _

A loud bang shocked the rowdy students, “Hey! Settle down, you monsters. We don’t have all day so why don’t we all just shut up and listen?” The slurred words matched the owner of the voice’s dry tone, his red eyes glaring at anyone who dare block his path.

“Alright, I’m your professor, Qrow Branwen, and as long as you all do your work and pay attention, you’ll pass this class,” he affirmed, lazily adjusting his red tie as he sat down in his chair. “Well, considering this class is why most of you joined Beacon, you’ll probably have to do a lot more than that to pass. But you get the idea.”

Qrow laid his legs on the messy table, his spiked dark hair slightly shielding his eyes as the professor’s gaze drifted from student to student until he paused at the sight of Yang’s redheaded sister, continuing only after a moment of confusion that the blonde knew he was having. The rise of his eyebrow when the two made eye contact made it completely obvious to Yang that Qrow must’ve had no idea that Ruby entered Beacon two years early.

Yang just raised an unimpressed eyebrow in turn.

He scowled and moved on, but she knew he would get the answers he wanted as soon as the class ended. Qrow may look and act like a bum at times, but the man could be intimidating when he wanted to be, especially when he was looking for answers.

Qrow sighed deeply once he finished his analyzing. “You might’ve noticed that you’ve been having a lot of the same classes as your roommates,” he commented, grabbing one of the bottles that sat on his desk and continued, “That was on purpose. Sure, it takes a lot of time to arrange for you music students, but it’s necessary for this class.”

The lanky man took a large gulp from the bottle, looking far more relaxed afterwards. “Mm, it’s cause you’ll be working with your roommates for the rest of your time in Beacon. As a team of sorts, I guess you could say.” 

Yang felt her shoulders drop, her lilac eyes immediately meeting Weiss’ shocked icy ones, and since Ruby was still slumped over, when the girl jumped up in surprise at her uncle’s words, she broke their stare. There was absolutely no way Yang could work with Weiss and Blake. 

Weiss was too defensive and argumentative with Yang, while Blake wouldn’t even talk with her.

At least with Ruby she might have a chance at not failing.

“Though a lot of you just end up making boy bands, rock bands, or whatever out of these teams we put you in.”

A realization settled in once Qrow mentioned the bands that originated from Beacon, or really, Shade, Atlas, and Haven. Yang heard of those bands, most of them entering in the festival that happened every two years in an effort to gain popularity and more gigs, record deals, or even sponsors.

Those musicians gained fame whether they won or not, but those that did win were basically put upon a pedestal and admired worldwide, earning the attention of plenty of record labels and plenty of other benefits. 

She knew that that was what she wanted out of this school, Yang just thought she’d have more of a choice in who to be paired up with.

While Qrow began the portion of his class that required him to actually teach, the blonde couldn’t stop thinking of how she’d make this work throughout the entire lesson.

* * *

When he leveled her a meaningful stare, Yang only sighed and turned to her sister, giving her a reassuring smile when the redhead looked back, confused as to why her sister wasn’t following the rest of the students out the door. Ruby looked like she wanted to stay, but she reluctantly followed Weiss and Blake into the crowded hallways. A wave of pity for Ruby washed over Yang; she hoped her sister could keep the two civil enough until she was done with Qrow.

Speaking of her uncle, Yang heard a cough from behind her and rolled her eyes playfully, a tiny smirk forming on her face. Turning to face the charcoal-haired man, Yang crossed her arms and tilted her head upwards, her eyes gleaming with an unspoken challenge.

He only sighed deeply.

“Listen, Firecracker, I know you think this is a game, but I really need some answers this time,” he wearily started, leaning heavily against his desk. “Why is the pipsqueak here? I thought she had two more years in Signal, what happened?”

She decided to cut him some slack this time, the genuine exhaustion in his expression concerning her. “Ozpin let her in early after we won a competition, which, to be totally honest, I thought that the prize was bullshit and completely made up, but here we are. Funny how things turn out, huh? I really thought I’d get into Beacon by using my own skills.” Yang didn’t like to admit it when things got to her, but seeing Qrow again after so long dug up those vulnerable parts in her. “Not some competition,” she finished lamely, her grin fading to a small, bitter smile.

“It was that big competition in Vale, here, in the  _ city, _ right?” Qrow softly asked, his face unnaturally comforting and inviting. “The one with over two-hundred competitors? Hell, probably closer to three-hundred, am I right?” At her hesitant nod, he continued, “ _ You _ beat all those people with  _ your _ skills. And Ruby’s. I’m proud of you two. You have no idea how happy I am that you’re both here.”

Yang felt the doubt that had been inside of her ever since she arrived at Beacon finally disappear, replaced by the confidence that Qrow’s words gave her. He crookedly smiled, before rolling his eyes and opened his arms.

“C’mon, don’t tell me you haven’t missed your Uncle Qrow?” he teased, the warmth in his gaze familiar in all the right ways.

She grinned and jumped into his arms, laughing as he grunted at the effort of keeping her off the ground before spinning them both around like he used to when she was younger. 

It brought back good memories.

“Of  _ course _ I missed you.”

* * *

“—As long as you all put in work, we’ll be fine.”

Yang refrained from decking the heiress in the face as soon as she walked into the room, merely settling with sending the short girl, who sat on her bed, a heated glare and flipping her off. The highly offended look on her face was utterly worth it. The blonde slammed the door shut behind her and threw herself on her bed, shoving her face deep in her pillow.

“I mean, of course we’ll ‘put in work’ since, like, you know, we want good grades too,” Ruby hesitantly said, trying not to start another fight like yesterday. She’s a good kid. 

The tired guitarist pretty much heard Weiss roll her eyes. “ _ No _ , really?” she replied mockingly, but before Yang could release hell upon her, Weiss continued with genuine curiosity, “How old are you anyways?”

“Oh, well, um, I’m about to turn sixteen in like two months,” Ruby stuttered, clearly embarrassed about her age. 

Blake, surprisingly, joined in from her side of the room. “How did you get in?” 

“Uh, so, funny story, there was this competition thing that me and Yang won—”

“Yang and I,” Weiss corrected, interrupting Ruby mid-sentence. “It’s Yang and I, not me and Yang.”

She sank deeper into her soft pillow, willing herself to ignore the voices conversing above her. There was absolutely no way they could all work together for Qrow’s class, let alone compete seriously in the Vytal Festival.

The guitarist’s muffled groan of defeat went by unnoticed.

* * *

_ The birds chirped their happy songs, the upbeat tune that she wanted mimic. So she tried, whistling as high as she could, but as soon as she did, they all flew away, scared. Desperately, the little girl tried as hard as she could to fly with them, an inexplicable desire to be like the colorfully feathered beings that soared into the bright sky. _

_ No matter what, she couldn’t reach them. _

_ A shrill squawk frightened her, the little girl stumbling down to the grass when she turned sharply to see what creature could’ve possibly made that noise. She winced, the skin on her elbows red and throbbing with pain, but was strong, she could handle a little scratch. She was strong, just like her mother. _

_ The little girl flinched at yet another shriek, her eyes darting to the trees in front of her. It wasn’t long until she found two red orbs glaring at her, a darkly colored bird cocked its head at her. _

_ She tilted her head in response, earning herself a loud caw from the odd bird. _

_ She’s never seen a bird like this before. _

_ She smiled, raising her hand slowly towards the nice bird, her tiny fingers stretching out, but a sudden yell from behind the little girl caused the creature to flee into the woods, much to her dismay. She looked behind her to see her uncle, with the same colored-hair as the bird, blanching. He picked her up, still staring into the woods, a terrified look in his eyes. _

_ The little girl realized he was shaking and hugged him, because he always hugged her when she was scared. _

_ It seemed to snap him back to the present, which wasn’t much better, because a deep mourning settled in his expression, his red eyes downcast and unable to meet the young girl’s innocent eyes.  _

_ He carried her back inside of the cabin that her dad owned, but everything was different. _

_ Suddenly, his solid, comforting arms disappeared into thin air, little lines of dust speckled the air as his entire form dissipated. She cried out, unprepared to be dropped onto the wooden, cold floor.  _

_ In a split second, the wood underneath her grew watery, a sharp metallic scent rising into the air. The liquid beneath her felt thick and sticky, something that deeply unsettled the little girl, but when it began to sink into her clothes, she looked down and saw red, red,  _ **_red_ ** _. _

**_Everything was red._ **

_ Except for the white-cloaked figure laying in the middle of the room. _

_ The little girl screamed. _

Yang startled awake, her scream halfway ripping through her throat, before she realized what was happening. She struggled to breath, her hands clammy, but her entire body soaked in sweat. She didn’t even know when she fell asleep, or for how long, but the light filling the room from the window indicated that not too much time has passed. 

The blonde wiped away the sweat from her forehead, pushing back her hair with another hand. She was an absolute mess, but Yang couldn’t care less at this point, still reeling from her nightmare.

Her heart raced against her chest, to the point where it was physically hurting Yang. She sucked in deep breaths, trying to calm down. Laying back down on her, now slightly wet from sweat, bed, Yang turned on her side and blinked at the sight of a hesitant white-haired girl staring at her from her own bed.

She struggled to form words, but the heiress settled on an unusually soft, “...Are you okay?”

Yang was speechless. Somehow Weiss was the last person she imagined this to happen with. Her nightmares weren’t occurring every night, but when they did happen, Yang had extreme reactions to them. They were violent and terrifying, exaggerated memories, or things that never happened at all. 

And they utterly horrified Yang.

“W-why do  _ you _ care?” she inwardly cursed at her stutter, but she couldn’t help it, her body was still trembling with fear that the nightmare invoked.

The heiress looked away, her blue eyes unreadable. “I know that I’m… difficult. I have awful nightmares too, ones where it seems like I’m trapped and unable to stop whatever horrific deed was about to happen. I know how it feels to wake up alone, not able to tell anyone about those nightmares,” she confessed quietly, trying to keep her voice steady. 

Yang furrowed her brows at this drastic change from the girl, not that it was unwelcome, but it was different. A nice different.

“Because to admit to having fears is to admit being weak. You don’t seem like someone who would enjoy that, Yang. Especially to your sister, right?” Weiss asked rhetorically, already seeming to know more about Yang than Yang herself. 

The blonde scowled. “So what, you think after meeting me two days ago that you know everything about me? You don’t know me. So quit trying to analyze me, got it?” 

Seeing Weiss at a loss for words after snapping at her didn’t bring the effect it usually did, there was no burst of satisfaction or joy. Yang actually felt a bit bad.

Weiss took in a deep breath. “We got off on the wrong foot, and I know I’m not the best at this whole…  _ thing _ ,” she admitted, a faint blush creeping up her neck. “But, I think, maybe, we could try a truce. Do you agree to these terms?”

Yang stared at the hand offered to her, her jaw hanging when she realized this was Weiss’ way of trying to make amends. She didn’t want to offend the heiress by laughing in her face anymore. The blonde actually wanted to say yes. 

It could’ve been because Weiss didn’t mock her for having nightmares intense enough to scream as soon as waking up, or maybe it was the genuine look in her eyes, however embarrassed and out of place the heiress looked. 

Yang didn’t notice when it happened, but her heart finally slowed down with her erratic breathing. She calmed down without even realizing it.

The blonde shook the heiress’ hand firmly, a tiny smile on her face, a dab of her regular mischief dancing in her eyes.

“I accept these terms.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!!
> 
> get ready to die next chapter though


	5. Tiny victories

_ “—Pyrrha Nikos is now officially the youngest artist to have won the medal, without attending any of the—” _

A sharp crash followed by loud curses filled the tense air. She panted harshly, a dark glint shining in her eyes, an intense flame growing deadlier inside of her the more that those words echoed in her mind. 

There was absolutely no way a  _ child _ managed to win.

There was absolutely  _ no way _ a child beat  _ her. _

She gritted her teeth, a fury burning deep in her being, smothering her and overwhelming her entirely. Her fingernails dug into her palms roughly, the pain going by unnoticed as she lost herself in her rage.

“Are you ok—”

In mere seconds, she reached out and grabbed the throat of the green-haired girl that spoke up, abruptly slamming her against the cold, stone wall. It was overwhelmingly satisfying to hear the choked gasps, and to feel in control of something, anything. What does it matter if it was her bandmate’s life she felt in control of?

She glared intensely into petrified crimson eyes. “ _ No, _ Emerald, I’m not okay. In case you haven’t realized,  _ we lost _ .  _ I _ lost. To a  _ child _ , Emerald, a  _ child. _ I suffered the worst injury a singer could imagine for  _ this?” _

“C-Cinder…” Emerald managed to gasp out, but the tightening of the fingers around her throat cut off all air supply. Her hands clawed pathetically against Cinder’s clothed arm, her pleading eyes gazing directly into the blazing inferno of hate that shined in Cinder’s eyes.

The older woman simply smiled malevolently, then released the girl moments before she passed out from the lack of oxygen. The shuddering and desperate gulps of air Emerald took in while collapsed on the carpeted floor was enough for Cinder to regain her composure.

To lose control was to lose everything for Cinder.

Being reminded of how much control she had over Emerald, the amount of power she possessed, it was enough to calm her down. 

Luckily, Mercury wasn’t here to prevent things like this from happening; the boy had a tendency to subtly protect the thief by using his big mouth and clever insults to drive either Cinder or Emerald up a wall.

He was much harder to control than Emerald.

Cinder side-eyed the beaming child on the cracked, muted screen of the television she had let her frustration out on, the burning rage turning frigid, vengeful. The red-haired child’s emerald eyes gleamed with energy and joy as the award was handed to her. The image sputtered, glitching, and finally gave out, but not before Cinder could burn the child’s image into her mind.

She wouldn’t forget Pyrrha Nikos.

A man wearing a white coat, bowler hat placed firmly above his head, ran down the stairs, alarmed expression turning to extreme annoyance when he viewed the wreckage behind her.

_ “That _ was the only television I’ve got in the house,” he glowered, removing the cigar from his lips, analyzing the damage done to his possession. After a moment of silence, he turned to Cinder, pointing at her with his cigar. 

“You’re paying me back.”

* * *

Ruby stretched her arms to the sky, humming contently. Being freed from the confines of the school uniform was refreshing, the slightly cool air brushing against her skin bringing a smile to her face. She glanced at the less enthusiastic girl in front of her, the distant look in the girl’s amber eyes catching her attention.

The redhead was still a bit worried about leaving her sister alone with Weiss, but with the former asleep and the latter too busy studying, something that bewildered Ruby since it was only the first day, she figured they couldn’t get into another fight. At least she hoped they wouldn’t. 

She managed to overhear the name of the faunus leading her earlier, Blake, but something about her felt off. Ruby understood keeping secrets and feelings bottled up, just not to the extent that Blake seemed to be doing. With a second, concerned glance towards the faunus, Ruby bit her lip and shook away her nerves.

“Thanks for showing me where the library is,” she tried, shifting to move a little closer to Blake, attempting to look casual. “Books are kinda my thing.” Ruby swung her hands behind her neck, nervously thrumming her fingers. It wasn’t really a lie, she absolutely loved books, but she assumed that they weren’t exactly the type of books someone like Blake would read.

Ruby also just wasn’t sure how to talk to someone as dismissive like Blake.

A fluffy ear twitched in her direction, Blake turned to stare at her. Ruby, uncomfortable with the sudden scrutiny, slowed her pace down slightly. She watched Blake struggle to form words, her ears flattening against her skull.

“You don’t seem like the type,” Blake bluntly responded after a moment, offering Ruby a sheepish and apologetic smile afterwards. “Sorry, I didn’t mean for that to sound rude. You just… don’t look like someone who would enjoy books.”

Ruby relaxed, getting at what Blake meant, and sped back up, trailing just behind the faunus. “Well, Yang always said not to judge a book by its cover,” she recited, remembering all the times her sister would use that line when Ruby wouldn’t eat her vegetables. She would just grumble and reluctantly eat her food, ignoring the blonde’s smug face when Ruby found she liked it.

“Yeah…” Blake trailed off, a faraway look in her eyes. Ruby furrowed her brows, watching as her roommate grew tense and silent again.

They continued walking down the hall, passing a few students along the way, nearly all of them out of their uniforms. Ruby sent a few worrying glances towards the faunus, but didn’t spark up another conversation, figuring that it’d be a repeat of what happened with Yang earlier.

Taking a look at one of the windows they passed, Ruby idly noted that the sun was nearing the horizon. She had about an hour or so to search for a book she’d like until they should start heading back, in case of Yang waking up and freaking out once she realized the drummer was gone.

She knew how worried her sister could get when she disappeared without saying a word. It was an unspoken rule that the two followed without hesitation, which was why Ruby had been somewhat conflicted on whether to leave with Blake or not.

The few books Ruby owned were still back home, stacked by her bed neatly. She wanted to bring them on her move to Beacon, but it was either the books or—

In the end, there wasn’t really a choice.

Though as time passed since they left their dorm room, her raven-haired roommate grew less and less annoyed with her the more they walked, instead looking more thoughtful. 

Ruby personally took it as a compliment.

It was clear to her that Blake wasn’t very fond of company, but she didn’t seem to mind Ruby’s presence as much as the others. The redhead knew it was probably because of how little she talked, given her nonexistent social skills, but it was still a confidence booster of some sort.

...Maybe they could be friends?

A sudden impact with a wall, a _ human-shaped  _ wall, knocked Ruby out of her thoughts, sending her scrambling to apologize to the glaring faunus in front of her. Maybe she spoke too soon.

“I’m sorry!” Ruby squeaked, straightening her hoodie and laughing nervously when Blake continued to give her a hard stare. It wasn’t long until the faunus moved on, much to the redhead’s relief, slipping passed the doors in front of her.

Ruby trailed behind her, finding herself in awe of the large bookshelves that lined the walls. A few desks were already occupied by students, most of them using the computer for entertainment purposes rather than educational. She grinned with excitement, but restrained herself from running off to the closest bookshelf, turning to look back at her roommate.

Blake continued walking to an isolated corner of the book-infested room, picking up a book that was left lying cover down on the desk that occupied the area. She opened to the bookmarked page and read silently, sitting down on one of the wooden chairs. Ruby stood awkwardly in front of the table, wondering whether she should go or not.

“I’m just gonna… yeah,” she mumbles, shuffling away from Blake, pointing behind her and towards the bookshelves. The faunus ignored her fumbling.

Ruby let out a sigh when she drifted away from Blake’s sight, slumping against the shelves. She  _ really _ needed to work on her social skills when it came to someone like Blake. As difficult as it was to start a conversation with her, something about Blake drew Ruby in. She actually wanted to try to befriend the faunus.

Besides, it’d make the whole ‘working together’ thing easier.

Taking in a deep breath, Ruby regained her confidence and plastered a giant smile on her face. She swiped a random book off the shelves before making her way back to Blake, mentally preparing herself for what she was about to do. 

Yang always told her that she needed to make more friends; who better to make friends with than someone who was on the same level as her socially?

Ruby pulled out the chair across from Blake, turning to a random page of the novel in her hands, pretending to read. She glanced up from the book, sees Blake still nose deep in her own book, and coughs. 

Blake twitches.

She fakes a sneeze, keeping one eye open to peer at Blake’s reaction. The corners of the faunus’ mouth tighten, but other than that, Blake keeps reading.

The redhead lets go off her book, letting it hit the table with a booming  _ thud. _ Ruby winced, not prepared for how loud it would be, and slowly looked back up at Blake. The faunus’ eyes flashed dangerously at her, before she sighed and lowered her book reluctantly. 

“What do you what?” Blake hissed lowly with an irritated frown. “Weren’t books ‘kind of your thing’?”

Ruby laughed nervously, “Well, yeah, but I mean, don’t you wanna talk for a little? Y’know, like friends do?” She deflates at the raised eyebrow directed at her. “And you don’t want to be friends, of course, I get it, totally, sorry for bothering you,” the redhead mumbled, disheartened at Blake’s denial of her friendship.

The hard look on the faunus’ face softened slightly. Blake looks off to the side with a conflicted expression, but before Ruby could ask what was wrong, she spoke. “If you want to be my friend, maybe start with not trying so hard, okay? Let’s just read, silently, for a bit.”

Ruby beamed.

* * *

“You think they killed each other yet?”

“It’s a possibility. I wouldn’t blame… Yang, is it? I wouldn’t blame her.”

Ruby hummed in agreement, walking next to Blake with a spring in her step, feeling lighter than she has in a while. After reading together, the redhead noticed how loose Blake looked, and combined with the light feeling of having a possible new friend Ruby had, their conversations were a lot less one-sided.

She clutched the book in her arms tighter, Ruby, with Blake’s help, managed to find a book she’d actually like after reading two pages of the inappropriate novel she accidentally took off the shelf. 

_ That _ was hard to explain to Blake. 

But it only earned Ruby an exasperated eye roll, lacking the usual bite it would because of the small smile tugging at the corners of Blake’s mouth. 

The redhead glanced at the cover of the book in her hands, giddy to be met with a dragon, spitting bright orange and red flames, and a noble knight, her sword shining brilliantly and dangerously. This was more Ruby’s style.

As their dorm came into view, Ruby turned to Blake, walking backwards with such practiced ease that made the faunus blink in surprise. “I call dibs on cleaning up the blood. You can take care of the body, right? I know a guy that could help if it’s too much.”

She kept a serious face, even as Blake imitated a fish, looking completely taken aback by the implication. Ruby broke into laughter a few moments later, inwardly cheering herself on when muffled giggles followed after a beat of realization from Blake.

“Don’t worry, I’m experienced,” the faunus, shockingly enough, joked back with a dry tone, making Ruby laugh harder. “They’ll never find her.”

The smile on Blake’s face looked so real and genuine that it made Ruby feel like she could touch the sky. She had a feeling her new friend, her grin grew at that word, didn’t smile as much as she should.

Ruby liked making her smile.

“Okay, but seriously, Yang wouldn’t really kill Weiss,” the redhead tried to stifle her snickers, placing her free hand on the knob. “... I think.”

Opening the door, Ruby braced herself for the yelling contest she was about to interrupt, shutting her eyes tightly in preparation. A moment of silence passed until a light tapping on her shoulder made her crack open her eyes slightly, only to be met with a terrifying sight.

Her sister. And Weiss. Being civil.

Yang was laying on her bed, her contemplating expression turning to surprise when Ruby walked in, a single brow raised. While Weiss, on the other side on the room, was studying. She jumped when the door opened, her pencil dropping on the desk in her shock.

Somehow, they weren’t shouting at each other.

“Am I dead?” Ruby whispered to Blake, somewhat serious about the question. The faunus looked just as confused as her, but shook her head no. “What happened?” the drummer asked in a louder voice, addressing Yang and Weiss.

Yang rockets off her bed, pointing at Ruby and sending her an accusatory glare. “Where were you?”

Ruby narrowed her eyes. “I asked first.”

The two glowered at each other, scowling. Ruby crossed her arms and tilted her chin up haughtily, while Yang placed her hands on her hips in response.

But not even a few seconds later, they exploded with guffaws, startling both of their mildly concerned roommates. Ruby knew that Yang was joking the moment the first words left her mouth; it was fun to play along. 

“I just went with Blake to get a book,” Ruby giggled mirthfully, “She even helped me find one I’d like!”

The redhead proudly displays the book to Yang, grinning brightly at her sister. The blonde smiles back, glancing at Blake, before focusing back on the cover of the novel in Ruby’s hands.

“Oh, yeah, _ definitely  _ your kind of book.”


End file.
